Kofukuji is another Nara landmark that did a bit of traveling before coming to rest in the city. Serving as both the head temple of the Hosso sect of Buddhism and as the clan temple of the powerful Fujiwara clan, Kofukuji was first built in Yamashina (part of modern Kyoto) in 669, then moved to Fuj...
Nara Koen, or Nara Park, is one of Nara’s most distinctive features. Extending four kilometers east to west and two north to south, the park encloses or borders on most of the city’s main attractions, including Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji with its five-storey pagoda, and Todaiji. Even without these, N...
Though it’s not much to look at after Todaiji, Gangoji has an impressive history. Originally built in Asuka and relocated to Nara when the city became the capital in 710, Gangoji (or at least its predecessor in Asuka) is one of Japan’s oldest Buddhist temples.
Gangoji once had extensive grounds,...
In 745 the Emperor Shomu ordered that an enormous statue of the Buddha Vairocana be built to protect the capital of Nara and its people from plagues and natural disasters. It seems his plan failed. The capital was moved to Kyoto just 49 years later and in coming centuries the statue itself, called...
Nara Tokae Festival Started in 1999, what the Nara Tokae Festival lacks in history it more than makes up for in visual impact. For ten nights in August, tens of thousands of candle lanterns are lit across the city. Hanging from bridges, lining the paths to the city’s shrines and temples, and even se...
The Sara kimono rental shop is in Nara-machi, the city’s picturesque southern district with a wealth of traditional shops and townhouses. For 2,500 yen you can rent a yukata, the casual summer garment, or a more formal kimono for 3,000 yen. It takes about half an hour to get fully dressed and deck...
Nara 奈良
Située dans la région du Kansai et voisine de Kyōto, Nara fut la capitale du Japon entre 710 et 784. La majorité des monuments historiques de la vieille ville sont classés patrimoine mondial de l'humanité depuis 1998.
Les protecteurs de la cité sont les fameux Shika- cerfs japonais- qui y ...
Nara’s Kasuga Taisha (Grand Shrine) is widely regarded as one of Japan’s “Three Great Shrines.” As at Ise, the Shrine’s four inner sanctuaries are set within an enclosure, inaccessible to the public. But the Shrine is worth a visit both for the dramatic approach lined with 2,000 stone lanterns don...
Located in the heart of the richly atmospheric Nara-machi district, Koshi no Ie is a well-preserved example of the traditional wooden townhouses that once sheltered the city’s affluent merchant class. The long central corridor opens on either side into a series of tatami mat rooms on its way to the...
In 680, Emperor Temmu ordered a great temple to be built as a prayer for the recovery of his ill wife. When he died eight years later, she had regained her health and as the new Empress Jito took on the task of finishing the temple, to be called Yakushiji. It was dedicated in 697, in the short-liv...
